Thursday 11 June 2009

31st Reichsarmee Template - Trooper of the Pfalz Kurassiere (Electoral Rhenish Circle) 1

Re-raised 1754 as the Kurpfalz Oberrheinische Kreiseskadron. 1 squadron of 3 companies, with a strength of 172 men in 1757. With the Reichsarmee it was combined with 2 squadrons of the Prinz Friedrich Regiment to form the Pfalz Kurassiere, with a total strength of 460 men (but only 413 horses!).

The Inhaber was GFM Pfalzgraf Friedrich Michael Von Zweibrucken. Commanders were: Freiherr von Siegenhofen, 1760 von Wickenburg, General Stechinelli. Present at a number of actions including Rossbach 1757 (where it formed part of the second line of cavalry swept away by the Prussian flank attack as it was trying to form up), Leipzig, Torgau, Meissen, Dippoldiswalde, Maxen 1759, Meissen, Strehlen, Wittenberg 1760, Weida, Zwickau, Plauen, Hof 1761.

There are some disagreements about details among the sources but this seems to me the most likely SYW uniform for this contingent of the regiment. The shabraque pattern I have taken from a 1775 painting of Palatinate troops in the Anne S K Brown collection, as otherwise I have only verbal descriptions. The detailed Martin Lange material in the Pengel and Hurt "Bavaria, Saxony and Palatinate Supplement" seems to me to be the most authoritative source of material so I have relied most on that, although referring to the other P&H material, the Sturm cards and others. Note that, despite the name, Palatinate cavalry had apparently not worn the cuirass since the War of the Spanish Succession.

The next template will be of the second contingent of the Pfalz Kurassiere, the Prinz Friedrich Regiment.

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